Eye of the Needle (film)
| starring = | music = Miklós Rózsa | cinematography = Alan Hume | editing = Sean Barton | studio = Kings Road Entertainment | distributor = United Artists | released = | runtime = 112 minutes | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = | gross = $17.5 million | border = yes }} 'Eye of the Needle''' is a 1981 British spy film directed by Richard Marquand and starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan. It was written by Stanley Mann and based on the novel of the same title by Ken Follett. The film is about a German spy in England during World War II who discovers vital information about the upcoming D-Day invasion, and his attempt to return to Germany while stranded with a family on the isolated Storm Island, off the coast of Scotland. Plot summary A man calling himself Henry Faber is actually a German Nazi spy nicknamed "the Needle" because of his preferred method of assassination, the stiletto. He is cold and calculating, emotionlessly focused on the task at hand, whether the task is to signal a U-boat or to kill anyone who poses a threat to his mission. In England, he obtains critical information on the Allies' invasion of Normandy plans but is unable to transmit the information. After narrowly escaping British Intelligence in London, Faber tries to make his way to Germany, but is stranded by fierce weather on Storm Island, a place occupied only by a woman named Lucy (Kate Nelligan), her disabled husband David, their son, and a shepherd, Tom. A romance develops between the woman and the spy due in large part to an estrangement between Lucy and her husband, an accident (on their honeymoon) having rendered him embittered and physically confined to a wheelchair. David has always been suspicious of Faber, and, having discovered the mysterious guest is carrying military information, demands an explanation from him at gunpoint. A struggle ensues, ending with Faber throwing David off a cliff. Lucy, chancing upon her husband's dead body, realizes Faber has been lying to her and hatches a plan to get away from him. However her flight alerts him that she is suspicious, and he pursues her. Lucy, after discovering Tom's dead body, radios the mainland. She is told that help will be sent immediately, but in the meantime it is vital that she destroy the island's radio transmitter. She is confused by the request, but before she can do anything Faber appears and threatens to kill her son if she does not do as he says. The Needle tries to use the radio to report to his superiors the exact location of the D-Day invasion, but just as he is about to impart the information, Lucy, having heard him speaking in German, blows the house's fuses, rendering the transmitter useless. Faber expresses admiration for what Lucy did and tells her the war has come down to the two of them. Thinking Lucy poses no further threat to him, he heads towards the shore to be picked up by a German U-boat, as previously arranged. Lucy, now fully aware of the stakes involved, chases Faber to the sea and shoots wildly at him with her husband's pistol as he tries to sail to the U-boat in a small rowboat. One of her shots strikes Faber but does not instantly kill him and he struggles to launch the boat, before slumping over, dead. Having been unable to transmit his information or reach the U-boat to get away safely, his mission has been thwarted. Soon after, the British Intelligence agent who was chasing Faber arrives with the police. He encounters a despondent Lucy, Faber's body, and the fleeing German submarine. Cast *Donald Sutherland as Henry Faber *Kate Nelligan as Lucy Rose * Ian Bannen as Inspector Godliman * Christopher Cazenove as David Rose *Stephen MacKenna as Lieutenant *Philip Martin Brown as Billy Parkin *George Belbin as Lucy's Father *Faith Brook as Lucy's Mother *Barbara Graley as David's Mother *Arthur Lovegrove as Peterson *Barbara Ewing as Mrs. Garden *Patrick Connor as Inspector Harris *David Hayman as Canter *Alex McCrindle as Tom *John Bennett as Kleinmann *Sam Kydd as Lock Keeper *John Paul as Home Guard Captain *Bill Nighy as Squadron Leader Blenkinsop *Jonathan and Nicholas Haley (twins) as Joe (David and Lucy's son) *Allan Surtees as Colonel Terry *Rik Mayall as sailor on train Production The Storm Island scenes were shot over eight weeks on the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. Some of the location filming was shot at Blackbushe Airport Yateley. Reception Roger Ebert "admired the movie," stating it "resembles nothing so much as one of those downbeat, plodding, quietly horrifying, and sometimes grimly funny war movies that used to be made by the British film industry, back when there was a British film industry." On Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of critics gave the film positive reviews. Anachronisms The DKW Munga vehicle shown on the island was not built until the 1950s. The enclosed-cabin Westland Widgeon helicopter that is briefly shown toward the end of the film is also an anachronism. The German U-Boat that is intended to do the pickup is actually the silhouette of a British T-class submarine References External links * * * * Category:1981 films Category:British films Category:British spy films Category:English-language films Category:Films based on British novels Category:Films based on thriller novels Category:Films directed by Richard Marquand Category:Films set in the 1940s Category:Films set in England Category:Films set in Scotland Category:Films set on islands Category:Films shot in Argyll and Bute Category:Films shot in Hampshire Category:Films shot in London Category:Films shot in Surrey Category:Operation Overlord films Category:1980s spy films Category:1980s thriller films Category:United Artists films Category:World War II films Category:World War II spy films Category:Films scored by Miklós Rózsa Category:Adaptations of works by Ken Follett